Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 755 of 1503)

      Should G-Men fear Cowboys in 2009?

      August 8, 2009 /

      Our very own Mike Farley covers the Giants for the blog GMENDEN and in one of his recent pieces he ponders whether or not the boys in blue should be fearful of the Cowboys.

      Well I don’t know about you, but I’m equally afraid of Dallas as I am of Philly. It’s not like the Cowboys purged their entire roster. They did get rid of two questionable characters in Terrell Owens and Pacman Jones. But Tony Romo is minus Jessica Simpson and is healthy…you might remember he missed a few games last season, and having Brad Johnson run that offense was like putting a toddler in charge of a nuclear power plant. TE Jason Witten was also hurt for much of the season, though he played through pain. Rookie Felix Jones made everyone forget about Julius Jones, and DeMarcus Ware was just terrorizing QBs with an NFL-best 20 sacks.

      You’ll also remember that while our G-men beat up on the Romo-less Cowboys in November, 35-14, they let a less-than-100% Romo beat them in December during the skid that led to our downfall by a 20-8 score. You rememer that game, right? It was a Sunday nighter, and the Giants managed just two field goals and a safety, as Eli Manning could not get on track.

      So while the Cowboys finished 9-7 in 2008, you have to wonder if they would have won at least two of those games Johnson started in Romo’s place. As much as everyone likes to poke fun at Romo and his tendency to choke under pressure, he’s been mostly very tough against us–tough to take down, and always hitting clutch third-down throws while under pressure.

      The NFC East will once again be one of the toughest divisions in football and as Farley points out, nobody should be sleeping on the Cowboys.

      Personally, I think cutting T.O. will be addition by subtraction, although the spotlight is now on Romo. If he can’t step up and be a leader for this team, then there’s a great chance that their talent won’t be enough again. As much as his fun-loving demeanor is one of the endearing parts of his game, it’s time for Romo to take that next step as a quarterback and put the Cowboys’ success squarely on his shoulders.

      Now, that’s not to say that Romo has to do it on his own. Dallas has one of the more talented rosters in the NFL and Romo is just one key piece. But guys like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady know what it takes to get the most out of the talent around them. Romo has failed to do that so far in Dallas.

      NFL

      Saturday MMA Review: 8/8

      August 8, 2009 /

      Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

      – Russian heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko told the UFC to get stuffed, and signed with rival MMA promotion Strikeforce. As you can imagine, Dana White wasn’t too happy about this.

      – James Irvin officially became the most cursed MMA fighter in history.

      – Josh Barnett’s latest steroid bust, which single-handedly destroyed Affliction’s MMA promotion, actually saved the sport of mixed martial arts.

      – Speaking of ‘roids, BJ Penn is pretty sure that Georges St. Pierre uses them, because how else would you explain his physique? You know, other than genetics and hard work…

      – Sengoku’s featherweight grand prix finals turned into a clusterbang of injuries and racism.

      – Former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski may have attempted suicide after two straight knockout losses.

      – Busty French-Canadian ring girl Edith Labelle exited the UFC under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it, she was too drunk to work UFC 100 last month.

      – Swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the UFC 101 pay-per-view broadcast. You can get familiar with the card by reading this debate on the major topics of the event, and our always-helpful gambling advice. And remember: This ain’t Las Vegas, and it ain’t New Jersey. This is Philly.

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Olney: Blue Jays place Rios on waivers

      August 7, 2009 /

      In a surprising development, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Blue Jays have placed outfielder Alex Rios on waivers and an unidentified team has already claimed him.

      The Blue Jays, it appears, have three options, and must make a decision by Tuesday, because the waiver period will roll through the weekend:

      • They could work out a trade with the team that claimed Rios.
      • They could pull him back from waivers, and keep him for themselves the rest of this season.
      • They could simply allow the team that claimed him to take him, at no cost.

      While this move definitely came out of nowhere, it makes sense that the Jays would want to dump Rios’ salary with his ceiling pretty much maxed out at 28 years old. He’s probably not going to play up to the $60 million that remains on his contract so if another team wants to take on all of his salary, then maybe Toronto is thinking it should jump on the opportunity and spend the money elsewhere.

      What’ll be interesting to find out is which team claimed Rios. According to MLB Trade Rumors, several teams including the Mets, Red Sox, Giants, Reds and Mariners did not put a waiver claim on him, so the mystery team remains at large.

      The first team that I thought of when I heard this news (and before I checked out MLB Trade Rumors) was the Giants. GM Brian Sabean foolishly toyed with the idea of trading Tim Lincecum for Rios two winters ago, so it would stand to reason that San Fran (who is still a hitter shy of making a serious World Series push) would go after him now. But with the way the waiver claims work in baseball, the Giants would be one of the last teams in line seeing as how they play in the NL (AL teams would have first crack at Rios) and they have the third best record in their league.

      Red Sox designate Smoltz for assignment

      August 7, 2009 /

      The AP is reporting that the Red Sox have cut starter John Smoltz and now Boston has 10 days to trade, release or send the 42-year-old veteran to the minors.

      “When he woke up today, he said, ‘How can I help the team win?'” Epstein said. “But he’s a realist and understands the results have not been what we were looking for.”

      After more than two decades of big wins in Atlanta, Smoltz signed with the Red Sox last January, hoping he could recover from surgery on his right shoulder. After eight starts, the numbers weren’t pretty for a pitcher with Hall of Fame credentials: 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA.

      Boston cut him while in a three-way race with the Yankees and Tampa Bay, and with Smoltz still searching for answers after one of the worst outings of his career.

      This is where I could write about how Smoltz would be a nice option as a fifth starter for a contender, but it’s hard to make that argument given how bad he’s been over the past month. Plus, he was the fifth starter (essentially) on a contender and he was brutal.

      Maybe he could wind up back in the National League and help a team like the Brewers or Giants, but again, he’s been so bad lately that it must just be time for him to hang ‘em up.

      MLB

      Tribe to lose $16 million this season according to owner Paul Dolan

      August 7, 2009 /

      In an interview with AP sports writer Tom Withers, Indians owner Paul Dolan revealed that the club will lose $16 million this season. Dolan also admitted that the recent trades of Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and popular catcher Victor Martinez were necessary long-term moves in order to move the franchise in a new direction.

      “Every four or five years, if we can have a shot at the World Series and compete for the playoffs like we did in ’05, that’s as good as it gets,” Dolan said.

      In a candid interview Thursday, Dolan projected that the Indians, currently in fourth place in the AL Central, will lose $16 million this season despite revenue-sharing from major league baseball. The Indians will need to borrow money over the next few years, Dolan said, but the club has no plans to ask the league for the loans.

      “After we traded Cliff, we had made a commitment toward a new direction for the franchise,” he said. “At that point, you don’t go halfway. We needed to make moves that put us in the best position to compete as soon as possible. The sense was in our organization that Vic (Martinez) was at his highest value and what we got back in return put us in a better position than we would have been had we kept them.”

      I’m sure Tribe fans will be excited to know that their favorite team is essentially trying to compete for the World Series and playoffs “every four or five years” when the Red Sox are competing for a World Series every year. Then again, not everybody can spend like the Red Sox and of course to a more extreme extent, the Yankees.

      It’s easy to see what the Indians are trying to do in re-stocking their farm in hopes that they can compete down the road, but it must be a deflating feeling to be a Tribe fan right now, knowing that your team just gave up on immediate success. After all, this team was on the brink of a World Series appearance just two seasons ago (2007).

      MLB

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